The father of an 11-year-old boy accused of shooting his friend and the father's girlfriend are now facing charges of their own.
The 11-year-old was charged with manslaughter in connection with 14-year-old Jadon Vaughn's death last month.
“Do I think justice is being served for my grandson? No. Do I think this was a murder? Yes,” said Vaughn's grandmother, Bobbie Prescott.
The last time Vaughn's 17-year-old sister, Kaylynn Baisden, saw her little brother was Christmas.
“I just miss him. I miss him a lot. It’s hard having to deal with this,” said Baisden.
A plea to gun owners from Jadon Vaughn's grieving grandmother: “I would never wish this on nobody. So please, please put your guns up. Make sure they’re locked. Make sure they’re away from children.” Why she doesn't feel Jadon is getting justice, at 5:30 on CBS47 @ActionNewsJax pic.twitter.com/OXZI8oZpSX
— Jenna Bourne (@jennabourneWTSP) January 31, 2019
Prescott said she doesn’t think the charges against the 11-year-old suspected shooter, his father, Jordan Palm, or Palm’s girlfriend, Sierra Watts, are harsh enough.
“Justice is not served. And we’re going to get it for this boy right here,” said Prescott.
Palm and Watts are charged with leaving the 11-year-old, his 13-year-old brother and Vaughn at home alone with two unsecured guns.
The couple's charges are misdemeanors, but Action News Jax law and safety expert Dale Carson points out the state attorney's office could have considered a felony culpable negligence charge instead.
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It applies to adults who leave a firearm unsecured, and then a child gets ahold of it and kills someone.
“Any reasonable person knows that you need to keep firearms secure, because the round that comes out of the end of that barrel has no conscience,” said Carson.
"I just miss him. I miss him a lot." The last time Kaylynn saw her little brother Jadon Vaughn was on Christmas. Days later, detectives say he was shot & killed by an 11-year-old friend. Now the suspected shooter's father & girlfriend have been charged. I'm live at 5:30 on CBS47 pic.twitter.com/Flj8KU3qWl
— Jenna Bourne (@jennabourneWTSP) January 31, 2019
Prescott has a plea for gun owners.
“I would never wish this on nobody. So please, please put your guns up. Make sure they’re locked.
Make sure they’re away from children,” said Prescott.
The Columbia County Sheriff’s Office said the 11- and 13-year-old brothers originally told detectives Vaughn threatened them with a knife.
The sheriff's office said the boys later admitted they placed a kitchen knife in Vaughn's hand after the shooting because they thought they would be in less trouble.
Cox Media Group